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Program Spotlight
The Young Men’s Educational Network (YMEN) is a dynamic youth leadership organization established in 1996 to address the academic and social needs that cripple the futures of many young men who grow up in the North Lawndale community on Chicago’s West Side. YMEN offers advanced academic classes, entrepreneurial training, career planning, mentoring, tutoring, and a wide variety of community service opportunities as it seeks to fulfill its mission: “to prepare young men in North Lawndale for leadership by helping them grow in their faith and character, develop a love of learning, and use their gifts to serve the broader community.” For the past 14 years, YMEN has provided effective alternatives to academic apathy and gang membership and is recognized as a grass-roots community organization that is producing indigenous leadership in the next generation of African-American young men.
Website: www.ymenchicago.com
Factsheets Outcomes Pager High school students participating in Chicago´s After School Matters program—which offers paid internships in the arts¸ technology¸ sports¸ and communications to teenagers in some of the city´s most underserved schools— have higher class attendance¸ lower course failures and higher graduation rates than similar students who do not participate in the program. (University of Chicago, Chapin Hall Center for Children, 2007)